Abstract
An alteration of parenchymal cerebrospinal fluid circulation (CSF) has been proposed to take part in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. By using an intragate T1-weighted high-resolution MRI of the spinal cord of freely breathing mice injected with a gadolinium chelate in the cisterna magna, we show that a parenchymal CSF circulation exists in the spinal cord, in addition to that originally described in the brain. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model of multiple sclerosis, we show a reduction of parenchymal CSF circulation specifically in the spinal cord but not in the brain.